Existing control systems using gaze-monitoring as an input are very limited. Gaze recognition has been limited to relatively simple commands, such as button trigger and keyboard typing. One barrier of gaze-controlled robot manipulation is the lack of volumetric or three-dimensional information and/or depth of field information. Current gaze tracking technologies rely on 2D gaze-tracking on a computer display. This limits the number and type of commands that can be given.
Fundamentally, the eye is a perceptual organ that is not typically for an input into robotic or other control systems. Therefore, using solely gaze as a control input signal requires a system that can differentiate between normal behavioral eye movements and intentional eye “commands.” This issue of differentiation is known as the Midas touch problem. The “Midas touch problem” is that the eyes cannot be used directly as controllers (such as a mouse), because the eyes are rarely “off.” Thus, a “select” or “click” command is usually derived from tedious eye gestures (such as excessive blinks, deliberate dwell time, other controlled eye movements) as a confirmation to a specific command from the eye.
The emergence of assistive robotic techniques holds the hope to restore vital degrees of independence to the elderly and disabled in activities of daily living (ADL), improving their quality of life. However, conventional control of assistive robotic devices, such as wheelchairs or robotic prosthetics, relies on the user's physical motion/gesture through a device such as joystick, button, infrared laser or verbal communication. These input methods may bring physical and mental burdens on the user, especially for those with mobility disability or verbal impairment.
Existing gaze tracking robotic device control systems are generally cumbersome to the user by requiring incremental control of the robotic device. Accordingly, there is a need for a gaze tracking method and system wherein the robot control system and method does not require tedious eye gestures. Furthermore, there is a need for such as system which allows for a user to control the robotic device, such as a robotic assistive device, in a smooth and continuous manner and at different speeds based solely on the gaze position of their eyes.